Cold weather heats up price of bangus

The cold months of December and January are expected to cause a sharp decline in the production of milkfish (bangus), the top agricultural product in Dagupan and other coastal areas of Pangasinan.

With the drop in supply, vendors at the Magsaysay Fish Market here confirmed on Saturday that milkfish prices have gone up to P140 to P150 per kilo P125 early last month.

Dr. Westly Rosario, chief of the National Integrated Fisheries Technology and Development Center (NIFTDC), a research facility of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Dagupan City, said bangus was a tropical fish which do not eat much during cold weather.

“This is the reason why milkfish do not grow fast during the cold season, unlike when the weather is a little bit warmer, he added.

He called on fish farmers to reduce the volume of their milkfish in captivity or else transfer others to other ponds.

He stressed that summer was always the best time to raise milkfish.

Fish farmers complain to Rosario that aside from the cold weather, the low level of water in their ponds due to the approaching summer is causing them a lot of worries too. (PNA)